New UFC champ Anthony Pettis out two months with sprain, meets Grant on return

Anthony Pettis‘ timetable was up in the air until Tuesday night. Now the UFC’s new lightweight champion knows exactly what’s coming next.

Pettis (17-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) will be sidelined for the next seven to eight weeks with a Grade 2 knee sprain, which in medical terms is considered a “moderate” sprain. UFC President Dana White broke the news Tuesday night on ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” and UFC officials later announced it, as well.

When Pettis is able to return following the rehab for the knee injury – which will not require surgery – he won’t be taking a superfight with featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Instead, he’ll fight top contender T.J. Grant (21-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC).

Pettis won the lightweight title this past Saturday at UFC 164 in front of his home crowd in Milwaukee at Bradley Center. In the pay-per-view main event, he delivered a series of kicks to Benson Henderson‘s midsection that seemed to stifle the champion, who then brought the fight to the ground. But there, Pettis went after an armbar from his back and latched on tightly – forcing Henderson to verbally submit in the first round.

Pettis also beat Henderson for a title at WEC 53, that promotion’s final event in December 2010 before the merger with the UFC. He wasn’t even supposed to be fighting at UFC 164, though. He was scheduled to meet Aldo at UFC 163 in Aug. 3 in his first fight at featherweight, going after the 145-pound title. But in June, he was forced out with a knee injury – the opposite knee of his injury from Saturday’s fight. Chan Sung Jung took his place against Aldo in the main event.

While he was rehabbing his knee, he also mentioned he’d love a shot to stay at 155 to fight Henderson for the title in front of his hometown. And he got his wish when Grant had to pull out after suffering a concussion in training.

It paid off when he won the belt on Saturday, but he paid a temporary price with the injury he said he got while checking a Henderson kick.

After the fight, he said he wanted to fight Aldo, either at 155 for his new title, or at 145 for Aldo’s belt. But if that fight is to come to fruition, it won’t be at least until after Pettis defends against Grant at an event still to be determined.

For complete coverage of UFC 164, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site. And for more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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